Fans of the classic Gullwing Mercedes 300 SL have been eagerly awaiting the new Gullwing SLC supercar, which Mercedes' tuning house AMG has been spied working on over the last year. But if emerging reports are to be believed, the SLC won't wear a Mercedes badge at all. The true successor to SLR McLaren will reportedly be the first vehicle to be badged exclusively as an AMG product, forgoing the vaunted three-pointed star altogether.
Reports also indicate that with dimensions of 4650mm long, 2700mm wheelbase, 1950mm wide, and 1250mm high, the SLC will be similar in proportions to a Ferrari F430. Project C197, as the Gullwing SLC is internally known, is expected to make its debut at the 2010 Geneva show, with a cloth-roofed convertible R197 version to follow a year later.
The facts surrounding the forthcoming Mercedes-Benz SLC supercar are scarce, but one thing's for sure: gull-wing doors are part of the package. So far, we've only seen spy shots of the SLC wearing body panels pilfered from other M-B products, along with one Viper-clad mule. But these newest images procured by eMercedesBenz not only give us a glimpse of the gull-winged homage, but also provide us with some idea of the proportions of the new supercar.
Previous reports suggest that underneath the elongated aluminum hood lays a turbocharged version of AMG's 6.3-liter V8, putting out around 600 hp and an unruly amount of torque. The cab-backwards stance, short rear overhangs and makeshift spoiler all hint at the Merc's pavement punishing potential, and the raised driver's side door -- still far from complete -- appears to remain true to the original 300SL.
It's hard not to follow a story like the veritable fleet of new supercars set to follow the controversial Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. The supercar came out of the partnership between Benz and McLaren in Formula One, but while the racing cars have been highly competitive, the SLR has been less so. As a result, Mercedes and McLaren are going their own separate ways for the next generation of high-performance exotica.
Mercedes, with in-house rodders AMG and its racing spin-off, HWA, is preparing two new models to succeed the SLR: the SL65 AMG Black Series (which has been spied many times over) and the SLC (which we've seen disguised in Dodge Viper bodywork). McLaren, meanwhile, is anticipated to produce the new P11 mid-engined supercar on its own, without Mercedes input. The dissolution of the car-producing enterprise between the two powerhouses is not expected to affect their joint grand prix racing program.
The last iteration of the SLR – following the original coupe, the Roadster and the 722 – will be a limited-production lightweight speedster, on which we recently reported. Despite all its available variants, Mercedes has sold fewer than 1600 examples of the SLR to date.
One of the biggest criticisms of the Mercedes SLR McLaren was that, impressive though it was, the performance just didn't justify the enormous price tag. Mercedes isn't about the make that mistake again, however, and is preparing the new Black Series version of the SL65 AMG towards that end.
As we've reported previously, the Black Series will get its performance edge through the application of the time-honored "more power, less weight" formula -- the same kind of thinking that made the Ferrari 430 Scuderia the all-eclipsing supercar it is over the "ordinary" F430. Most of the body panels will be replaced, including the heavy folding roof mechanism, while the track up front and in the rear are being widened significantly. All the extra go-fast is anticipated to propel the Black Series to performance levels that will rival that of the SLR McLaren, but at a couple hundred thousand less. And that won't even be the SLR's replacement, with the even faster SLC down the pipeline. We're promised a first look at the SL65 AMG Black Series this July at the German Grand Prix in advance of its official launch closer to the end of the year. (We'll always have Paris.)
